Analise

Chapter Ten

"She's asleep?" Austin questions Leland looking at Layla.  

"Apparently you and I are the only ones awake beside Isaac." He replies looking around at everyone fast asleep on the boat.

"Hey, I never asked how you meet Layla," Austin says and he smiles.

"Taylor and she were having a sleepover when we were really young. I had asked to go in the basement, but couldn't because they were down there. Me, being a little boy that wanted to play a video game, was very upset. Against what our mom told me I went down there and saw the two were coloring. I was so mad that they weren't even using the tv, so I grabbed a marker and started to color over what they were doing.

Taylor, being her didn't yell at me. She just asked me to stop and asked me why I had ruined their picture. Layla, on the other hand, was mad. She yelled at me and kicked me where the sun doesn't shine." He says and Austin laughs knowing his cousin would do that. "I was scared of her for a while and then the older we got the more and more I started to like her and try to impress her. When she was a sophomore I finally asked her out and we've been together since." He says with a soft smile on his lips. Austin nods his head not needing to say anything.

They sit there in silence until Austin asks a question that's been bugging him. "How long as Taylor had those panic attacks?" Leland looks over at Austin confused.

"What panic attacks?" He asks pretending to not understand him. He knows Taylor likes to keep her issues to herself, like many other people. 

"Don't say that. I was there at the beach, we all were. She broke down and you were ready to kill the doctor because they wouldn't let you go and help her." He argues and Leland looks away from him and towards his sleeping sister. She's in the corner, her legs on Austin's lap with a blanket over her.

"She's never liked having the attention on her. The attacks just come when she feels overwhelmed." He says and looks at Austin. "Why do you care though?" He questions a small smirk on his lips.

"You know why." Austin grumbles and Leland shakes his head.

"You said you think you like her, but that's not the truth." He says and Austin looks at him confused. "You know you like her and I'm pretty sure you don't just like her." He states and Austin looks away not wanting to give anything away with his eyes. "That's what I thought." He hears. "I'll tell you now, she won't wait for you because she's oblivious. If you don't tell her, someone else will take her and then you won't have a chance." He explains and Austin knows this, but he can't just say something like that to her.

"I know, but she doesn't even trust me. I'm not going to tell her that I've-" He stops unsure of what to say. Does he like her or is he in love with her? Those are dangerious waters to be thinking about. 

"She's starting to trust you. I see it and I know for a fact that she couldn't have dried her hair that well with one hand." He says giving Austin a look, he just smiles.

"I wasn't much help with it though."

"She still asked you for help. That's a step forward for her." He says and Austin nods looking over at Leland.

"Why does she get the attacks?" He asks and Leland takes a breath wondering if he should tell Austin. It's not his place, but he knows Austin is a good person. He's not going to use it against her and if he tried he's beat the living hell out of him. Debating for a little while longer he gives up and begins to explain. 

"She has scopophobia and a social anxiety disorder, which means she hates having attention in her. Scopophobia is the fear of being stared at, and that's how she is. She doesn't like having everyone look at her, so when the fight happened and she saw everyone looking at her it caused the anxiety disorder to come in and give her the attack. She's been getting better, but most of the time it's a step forward and then two steps back." Austin hears the pain in this voice and looks towards her.